It was a meaningful moment — Real Madrid’s current superstar left the pitch, being replaced by a 16-year-old boy seen as the future king of the “Galacticos.”
Whether Martin Odegaard can ever match Cristiano Ronaldo’s incredible record remains to be seen, but for now he can bask in the glory of being the youngest player to represent the world’s wealthiest football club.
The Norwegian has had to wait since joining the Spanish giant in late January for a reported fee of between $3-4 million, but finally got his chance when he come on as a substitute in Real’s final match this season against Getafe — five months and six days after his 16th birthday.
World player of the year Ronaldo had already scored a first-half hat-trick, giving him the title of La Liga’s top scorer on 48 goals, when he gave way to his young apprentice in the 58th minute.
Real, by then 5-3 ahead, went on to win 7-3 in Saturday’s Madrid derby and finish two points behind champion Barcelona.
Real’s previous youngest debutant was Sebastian Losada in 1984, the midfielder being 17 years and six days old. Real’s youngest league scorer is Alberto Rivera, who netted on debut at the age of 17 years and 111 days.
Odegaard — who made his international debut at the age of 15 — was not key to the action that followed his introduction, but showed some encouraging touches to suggest he will not be out of his depth at this level.
It’s less certain that his coach next season will still be Carlo Ancelotti, especially after Real again showed worrying defensive frailties in being pegged back to 3-3 before finally romping clear with goals to Javier Hernandez and James Rodriguez with a stunning free-kick.
Colombia’s World Cup star James then set up substitute Jese Rodriguez, who provided the injury-time finale for Brazil full-back Marcelo.
It was small consolation for the club’s demanding fans, who had to endure a trophyless season after a run of poor results in 2015 which culminated in the end of Real’s European reign and the termination of its domestic title bid last weekend.
“My future is clear in my head,” Ancelotti, who has one year left on his contract, told reporters. “I will continue here at Real Madrid or I will stop for a year.
“I think we are going to meet next week to clarify the future of the club. I want to stay. If the club says I can’t continue I won’t be happy, but it is not the first time. It happened to me at Juventus and Chelsea — at PSG I asked to leave.”
Ronaldo was crowned La Liga’s top scorer for the third time, beating his previous best of 46 goals set in 2011-12 — when he hit 60 overall. The Portugal star has now played 300 times for Real since joining from Manchester United in 2008, scoring 314 times.
He gave Ancelotti his backing after the match, posting a picture on Twitter with the Italian coach.
Barcelona, meanwhile, could not finish the La Liga season on a winning note against Deportivo La Coruna despite going 2-0 up through Lionel Messi’s double.
The Galician side hit back through Lucas Perez and Diogo Salomao to earn a draw and stay in the top flight, meaning Eibar went down on inferior head-to-head record to Deportivo and Granada despite beating bottom side Cordoba 3-0 and having a better goal difference.
Messi finished five goals behind Ronaldo in the “Pichichi” goal standings, and trails 61-56 in their overall battle. The Argentine has two more games to overcome that deficit — next weekend’s Spanish Cup final against Athletic Bilbao and the European Champions League title clash with Juventus on June 6.
Barca’s fans said farewell to veteran midfielder Xavi Hernandez, who is joining Qatari club Al-Sadd after 24 years at the club.
“There will never be another player like him,” coach Luis Enrique said after the 2010 World Cup winner made his 505th league appearance.
Almeria was also relegated after losing 3-2 at Valencia, which clinched fourth place and a spot in the qualifying rounds of next season’s Champions League.
Deposed champion Atletico Madrid finished a point above Valencia in third after a 0-0 draw at Granada and will again play in the group stage of the continent’s top club competition.
Italian Serie A
Meanwhile, Rafael Benitez — who has been linked with the Real Madrid coaching job — suffered a setback in his bid to guide Napoli into the Champions League next season as his fourth-placed side lost 3-1 to Juventus on Saturday.
Lazio, three points above in third, can end Napoli’s hopes with a draw at home to capital rival Roma in their penultimate game on Monday.
Juve, which had already secured a fourth successive title, went 19 points clear of second-placed Roma.
Genoa moved up to fifth with a 3-2 win against Roberto Mancini’s Inter Milan, which stayed eighth.
German Bundesliga
Champion Bayern ended its season on a winning note with a 2-0 victory against Mainz, halting the losing streak that included Champions League and German Cup semifinal exits.
Bastian Schweinsteiger scored on his 500th senior appearance after Robert Lewandowski netted his 17th league goal this season to be equal second with teammate Arjen Robben in the golden boot standings. They were two behind Eintracht Frankfurt’s Alexander Meier.
Pep Guardiola’s team finished 10 points clear of second-placed Wolfsburg, which drew 2-2 with Cologne.
Third-placed Borussia Monchengladbach lost 3-1 at Augsburg, which finished fifth and earned a Europa League place.
Bayer Leverkusen, already assured of a Champions League qualifying place in fourth, lost 2-1 at Frankfurt.
Dortmund said goodbye to coach Jurgen Klopp with a 3-2 win over Werder Bremen, and finished outside the European places in seventh.
Hamburg earned a relegation lifeline by beating sixth-placed Schalke 2-0, and will now face a playoff while Freiberg and Paderborn go down a division.
French Ligue 1
Paris Saint-Germain finished the season eight points clear at the top after a 3-2 win over Reims.
Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani netted twice to be the French league’s fourth highest scorer on 18 goals, one behind teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Alexandre Lacazette was top on 27 for second-placed Lyon, which won 1-0 at Rennes, while Marseille’s André-Pierre Gignac scored 21.
Monaco secured a Champions League qualifying place with a 1-0 win at Lorient, finishing two points ahead of Marseille, which won 3-0 over Bastia.
Evian Thonon Gaillard, Metz and Lens were relegated.
